Julie Lewis from Oregon, in the United States, is wearing an expensive-looking pair of boots. They are durable yet fashionable. To look at them you would never know that they were made entirely of

Recycling

Julie Lewis from Oregon, in the United States, is wearing an expensive-looking pair of boots. They are durable yet fashionable. To look at them you would never know that they were made entirely of recycled materials. Julie owns her own shoemaking company and has achieved a long-term ambition to turn waste into something useful. The shoes are made from all sorts of otherwise useless materials, including textile scraps, rubber from tyres, and plastic bags. Julie knows that she cannot solve the world’s environmental problems single-handed, but nonetheless she feels she is doing good at a local level.

Recycling has become extremely popular in the US, particularly in recent years when the number of recycling schemes has increased by 500 percent. 65 percent of aluminium cans are recycled plus a quarter of paper and 20 percent of glass. The enthusiasm for re-using materials has come from the realisation that Americans produce far more waste per person than most Europeans; a total of 200 million tons a year. This is twice as much per capita as Germany, for example, and it would be enough to fill a line of dustbin lorries stretching eight times around the world.

America even exports its waste. Taiwan buys used paper to make more paper and Japan uses American scrap metal and makes it into new cars, which it then sells back to the US. Two thirds of the remaining waste is buried in landfill sites. Disposal of waste poses a major problem. Landfill sites can cause pollution of water supplies. And as sites fill up, new ones need to be found. Some rubbish is burnt but this pollutes the atmosphere. The obvious answer, then, is to recycle more. Recycling is already big business – Julie Lewis being a perfect example. Her company has already attracted millions of dollars worth of investment. Recycled products are no longer seen as poor quality goods but as desirable alternatives.

A hugely successful scheme has been operating in Palm Beach County since 1988. Rubbish is sorted into different categories. Paper, glass and plastic are sold to recycling firms. Kitchen waste is used to power a generator which supplies electricity to 30,000 houses. Other materials are used to make soil, which is then used for growing fruit and vegetables.

There are of course economic arguments against recycling. It can be expensive to run the schemes. And as Lynn Scarlett, a government adviser from Los Angeles argues, it does not make economic or environmental sense to transport materials for recycling from areas which still have plenty of landfill space.

Manufacturers in Germany are trying to solve the problem at the production stage, mainly by looking at how their goods are packaged. Soap powders are now more concentrated and packed in small containers, toothpaste tubes are sold without boxes and plastic wrapping has been reduced.

In a time when newspapers and TV news bulletins are filled with depressing stories of environmental disasters it is important to remind people, especially children, that they can make a difference. After all they can recycle their waste every day of their lives.

Words

durable – надежный, прочный, стойкий, крепкий; длительный, долговременный

entirely – вполне, всецело, полностью, совершенно, совсем

achieve – добиваться, достигать; доводить до конца, выполнять

ambition – амбиция, честолюбие; стремление, цель, предмет желаний

waste – отходы, отбросы, лом, обрезки

scrap – клочок, кусочек, обрывок, обрезок (of – чего-л.)

rubber – резина, каучук; ластик, резинка; шина, покрышка (для машины)

single-handed – без посторонней помощи; самостоятельно; один на один

recycling – повторное использование, рецикл; утилизация отходов

per capita – на человека, на душу населения; в равных долях (о наследовании)

scrap metal – металлический лом, скрап

landfill – закапывание мусора, отходов; мусорная свалка

disposal – избавление; устранение

pose – излагать, формулировать (вопрос, проблему); ставить, предлагать

obvious – очевидный, явный, ясный

wrapping – завертывание; сплетение, переплетение; обертка

depressing – гнетущий, тягостный; унылый; наводящий тоску

Дата добавления: 2015-11-04